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“I’m glad you’re making it your own, Mom.”
“Thank you for letting me have the restaurant.”
I brush off her unnecessary thanks. “Of course, Mom. This place is yours. You can do with this place what you want. I can order the men to stop coming here if you’d like.”
“Don’t. I like it when they come to eat. This restaurant is the only place that serves homeland dishes. I know they enjoy it as much as I like cooking it. But I’m grateful you’re separating the restaurant from the business.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Mom. I want you to have the life you’ve always wanted for yourself.”
“How about you, Oliver?” she asks him.
“What about me?” His eyes bounce between us.
“It’s been some time since we last spoke. Any new ladies in your life?”
He laughs. “Viktor keeps me too busy. There’s no time left for ladies.”
When my mother’s cheeks go bright red, I ask, “Are you almost done?”
“Yes. Why?”
My tone drops. “I have one last meeting to take here.”
“I’ll come back later,” She adds, reading between the lines. “Ava needs me to take her some things.”
“Do you want someone to drive you?”
“No. Ava organized for Jimmy to drive me to the penthouse. He should be here any minute.”
“She thinks of everything,” Oliver murmurs under his breath.
“Yes, she does,” I tell my mother.
Oliver and I chat about Clan business while waiting for this Conor character.
Ten minutes later, the front door chimes. A young man who barely looks old enough to drink walks toward us. He is shadowed by Angus.
“That’s Conor,” Oliver tells me.
“Ceannard,” Angus greets as they approach.
“Mr. Manarch, thank you for seeing me,” Conor greets, offering me his hand.
“Take a seat,” I order, ignoring the hand he is holding out in offering.
“I won’t take too much of your time.” He sits down. “I know your relationship with my uncle was less than cordial.” I gesture for him to get to the point. “We don’t want any trouble. All men who followed my uncle have either returned to Ireland or have been dealt with. I’m hoping we can come to an agreement, a cease-fire. I now run the McIntyre business. I’m hoping we can continue the previous relationship forged between the Irish and the Scots. Business was good when we worked together. I know you don’t know anything about me, but I’m hoping you’ll give me an opportunity to show you I’m not my uncle. I am interested in making money, not continuing turf wars that lead nowhere.”
“You talk the talk, but you’re right. I don’t know anything about you.”
He tries to get on my good side. “I have a shipment coming to the docks from Ireland. I want to split it with the Manarch Clan as a sign of good faith.”
“When will the shipment arrive?”
My interest piques when he answers, “In three days. You can send as many men as you want. I’ll give you a list of the men who will be there on our behalf, and of course, I’ll be there.”
My cell rings. When the screen reads that it is Ava, I stand to take it.
“Everything okay?”
